NFL Top 100 Ranking Shows Just How Far Garett Bolles Has Come

Following his breakout 2020 season, for which he earned a second-team All-Pro selection, Denver Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles cracked NFL Network's Top 100. He checked in then at No. 82.

NFL Network's annual Top 100 list is the only one worth paying attention to because it's voted on by the players themselves. In other words, this is how players are truly viewed by their peers within the league.

Bolles has earned the respect of his peers; that's for sure. The first-team All-Pro checked in at No. 42 on this year's Top 100.

No. 42 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026…@broncos OT Garett Bolles! @NFLFilms pic.twitter.com/V0HcCsuTKN
— NFL (@NFL) July 31, 2026

Bolles is the fourth Bronco to make the Top 100 thus far. He joins:

Validation

Denver Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles (72) looks to block in the first half of the AFC Divisional Round playoff football game vs. the Buffalo Bills. | Derek Regensburger / IMAGO / Zuma Press Wire

Bolles was unranked on the Top 100 last year. His 2025 campaign was so dominant, though, especially as a pass blocker. He was the only tackle to not allow a sack last season, and he started every game as Bo Nix's blind-side protector.

It's great to see how far Bolles has come and the recognition he's getting around the NFL. The Broncos' patience in the once beleaguered tackle has been rewarded with gusto.

Bolles was Denver's first-round pick in 2017, and while he was an instant starter, his relative inexperience playing tackle (only one year of Division I football on his resume) was evident on the grass. The obvious talent and athleticism were there, but he was like a rough stone rolling downhill, and his collisions with objects were the only way to smooth him out.

Bolles was plagued by penalties in his first three years in the NFL, earning the moniker "Garett Holds" because he couldn't get out of the officials' crosshairs. However, he turned the corner in that respect in 2020, which was the first time in his career he garnered individual accolades.

A Young 34

At 34, Bolles appears old on paper, but he's a young 34. After serving an LDS mission, his football start came quite a bit later than most players, resulting, again, in only one year of Division I football at the University of Utah.

Most NFL offensive linemen learn how to actually play the position, from a technical standpoint, well before becoming pros. NFL coaching simply helps them refine their technique. Bolles had to learn how to play left tackle as a pro, and he was able to pull it off because of his unique talent, and the Broncos' long-suffering patience.

The proof is in the pudding now. Bolles has become one of the NFL's elite left tackles. He's up there with some of the franchise's all-time best left tackles, like Hall-of-Famer Gary Zimmerman and former three-time All-Pro Ryan Clady.

Because Bolles started so late, he's got plenty of tread left on his 34-year-old tires, and with one exception, really, he's managed to avoid the injury bug. In 2022, he suffered a broken leg in Week 5, ending his season.

No ligament or soft tissue issues or past injuries to nurse. Bolles returns to his post as the franchise left tackle for his 10th NFL season, as the Broncos look to make up for lost time and redouble their Super Bowl efforts.

The Takeaway

Congratulations to Bolles. He's a remarkable Broncos success story, and his return to the NFL Top 100 serves as further validation of that fact.

Sign up for our free Denver Broncos On SI newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Add us as a preferred source on Google